[132][99], On September 27, 2019, opponents of the state's congressional district plan filed suit in state superior court, alleging that the district plan enacted by the state legislature in 2016 constituted a partisan gerrymander in violation of state law. However, on December 8, 2017, the high court announced that it would hear the case during the 2017-2018 term. On June 2, 2011, the Alabama State Legislature approved a congressional district map. On February 10, 2012, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that the state House maps must be redrawn, "with instructions for the trial court to reconsider the extent to which mildly larger population deviations would satisfy other state redistricting criteria, to reconsider the partisan impact and incumbent pairings of a court-ordered plan, and to recognize a district protecting Hispanic voters in the Clovis area under the Voting Rights Act." The modules selected by the Court target senior Republicans, myself included, without a substantive basis in the law." Suppose a state has 25 voters who live in a perfect grid. [297][298][299][300][301], Judge Robert Payne dissented. But five of Austins six congressional seats are occupied by Republicans. On September 27, 2011, the Maine State Legislature approved what All About Redistricting called a "substantially modified version of this plan." The bulk of the states remaining Black population is split or cracked among the First, Second and Third Congressional Districts, all of which have been safely Republican for years. On January 21, 2018, state Republican lawmakers filed a motion requesting that the court stay its order pending an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. When it's conducted fairly, it accurately reflects population changes and racial diversity, and is used by legislators to equitably allocate representation in Congress and state legislatures. Redistricting affects political power. On February 3, 2012, the trial court again rejected the plaintiff's compactness claims, and the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed that decision on May 25, 2012. Eleven states leave the mapmaking to an outside panel. David Landau, Delaware County Democratic Party chairman, said, "[The remedial map] remedies the outrageous gerrymander of 2011, and that's the important thing, that the gerrymander be over. They are forthright about this intention: they desire a judicial mandate that Art I, 4, of the Constitution prohibits any political or partisan considerations in redistricting. In most states, the state legislature has primary control of the redistricting process, both for state legislative districts and for congressional districts. By cracking the Blue voters, mapmakers could break up the Blue vote so that Red ends up with a majority in all five districts. The court ruled that the existing map could be used for the 2016 general election. But it is an intensely political process, and can alter the fairness of elections before any votes are cast. At the time of redistricting, Republicans controlled both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly. It denies basic rights granted by the U.S. Constitution. On May 23, 2016, the court announced its decision in the case, Wittman v. Personhuballah. Second, the Elections Clause offers no judicially enforceable limit on political considerations in redistricting. In November's election, Democrats retained all five of Connecticut's congressional seats. Districts shall not be drawn to deny racial or language minorities the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice. On September 17, 2019, the state legislature approved H1020 and SB 692, remedial district plans for the state House and Senate, respectively. 6) Is there anything the public can do to change unfair redistricting? Denniston summarized their argument as follows:[305], On February 1, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States denied Republicans' request for a stay, meaning that the newly drawn map would be used for Virginia's June 2016 primary election and November 2016 general election. "The Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission is a group of 13 regular citizens four of them supporters of the largest party, another four supporters of the second largest party, and five independents or supporters of smaller parties. Meanwhile, Republican Representative Patrick McHenry dismissed these criticisms: "Eric Holder and (former President) Barack Obama have raised a lot of money for this outcome, and theyve pursued a really aggressive legal strategy for their partisan outcomes, and right now theyre calling it partisan gerrymandering, but what theyre seeking is partisan gerrymandering for the left. [261][35], On August 29, 2013, in the wake of the Shelby County v. Holder decision, the plaintiffs attempted to revive the case. On October 20, 2011, O'Malley signed the map into law. [296], On June 5, 2015, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia again ruled that an unconstitutional racial gerrymander had occurred in Virginia. Many states have other criteria: keeping districts geographically contiguous and compact, ensuring that elections will be competitive, or safeguarding partisan fairness so districts reflect statewide voting trends rather than giving one political party an unearned advantage. Lawmakers should minimize the splitting of precincts when drawing districts. (2015). Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964), was a U.S. Supreme Court case involving U.S. Congressional districts in the state of Georgia. The result? MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. If Republicans in Georgia try to crack or pack predominantly Black districts, they could argue that their intent is merely partisan, not racist. We accordingly affirm the judgment of the District Court. On June 29, 2011, the state legislature approved new congressional district boundaries, which were signed into law by the governor on August 9, 2011. In summary, I believe that: the present exercise of extraordinary jurisdiction was improvident; this Courts review would benefit from anticipated guidance from the Supreme Court of the United States; awaiting such guidance is particularly appropriate given the delay, until 2017, of Petitioners challenge to a 2011 redistricting plan; and the appropriate litmus for judicial review of redistricting should take into account the inherently political character of the work of the General Assembly, to which the task of redistricting has been assigned by the United States Constitution. Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates William Howell (R) said, "The House of Delegates remains in session. In most states, that entity is the state legislature itself; most state legislatures additionally hold public hearings or consider public maps, providing an opportunity for community input, transparency, and inclusivity in the redistricting process. At the time of redistricting, Democrats controlled both chambers of the state legislature; a Republican held the governorship. [209][210], On January 10, 2018, a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a 2-1 ruling finding that Pennsylvania's congressional district map had not been subject to unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering. While the maps we used in Michigan from 2012 to 2018 and are using now in 2020 are among the least fair in the nation, Im optimistic that with the new state rules, the maps for 2022 to 2030 will be much fairer.". "In the United States, redistricting happens every 10 years, after the Census. At the time of redistricting, Republicans controlled both chambers of the state legislature. This is how the Electoral College assigns seats to the 50 states: state borders never change, so each state gets two seats, plus additional seats assigned based on its population. The U.S. Department of Justice precleared the amended maps on December 8, 2011. So Republican legislators changed their strategy. But all truly independent panels operate outside the legislatures influence, at least mitigating bias in favor of incumbents. Control over redistricting hinges on control over state legislatures, which is determined in little-watched elections that are eclipsed by presidential races and statewide contests for Senate and governor. The compactness of the plan is superior or comparable to the other submissions[.] The court did not provide a precise deadline in its order; it did, however, indicate that the "upcoming filing period for the 2018 election cycle" factored into its decision to appoint a special master. For more information, click "[Show more]" below. Accordingly, we conclude that leave to amend would be futile. A C. 10. Moreover, as demonstrated by the results of the 2012 and 2014 elections, among other evidence, we conclude that Act 43 has had its intended effect. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas filed an opinion that concurred in part with the majority opinion and dissented in part. [296], On December 22, 2014, opponents of the newly drawn map filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging that 12 state legislative districts constituted an illegal racial gerrymander. This process was known as preclearance. But in simple terms, it refers to the intentional distortion of a map of political districts to give one party an advantage. By promulgating mandatory criteria the General Assembly could not anticipate in 2011, and that are found nowhere in the Pennsylvania Constitution, withholding guidance as to how to achieve compliance with Pennsylvania law until two days before the court's imposed deadline to enact a new plan, creating a proportional-representation criterion that is practically impossible to implement, and imposing a remedial plan that had been in the works all along, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ensured that its desired plan to draft the new map would be successful. The matter was brought before the New Mexico First Judicial District Court, which issued an opinion establishing new state House district lines on January 3, 2012. Reynolds ordered that the trial, scheduled to begin on December 14, 2015, go on as scheduled. [35], On July 29, 2011, the Arkansas Board of Apportionment approved new state legislative district maps. On February 23, 2018, this request was granted; judges Kent Jordan, Christopher Conner, and Jerome Simandle were appointed to the panel. The court directed the state legislature to adopt remedial maps for the challenged districts on or before August 1, 2019. More than 60 percent of her constituents are Black, almost a third of the states Black population. All United States Representatives and state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. "[86][87][88][89], On June 8, 2015, the high court agreed to hear the case. This decision requires each state to draw its U.S. Congressional districts so that they are approximately equal in population. Black voters in Alabama make up roughly 25 percent of the states population, and many civil rights leaders say the state should have two majority-Black congressional districts. We can draw them to fairly reflect the population: Blue gets three seats, Red gets two seats. Illinois Democrats Map Aims to Grab 2 G.O.P. Upon adjournment of the 2011 legislative session, the state legislature had failed to approve a congressional redistricting plan. On August 31, 2017, Alito issued a similar order on the district court's August 24 ruling on Texas' state House district plan. The state gained a seat in reapportionment, and the Democrats who control the State Legislature decided to grab it. On June 28, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a per curiam ruling in North Carolina v. Covington, affirming in part and remanding in part the district court decision (i.e., allowing the court's order to stand as it applied to districts in Hoke, Cumberland, Guilford, Sampson, and Wayne counties but overturning the district court's decision as it applied to districts in Wake and Mecklenburg counties):[182][183][184][185][186][187][188][189][190], On February 7, 2018, opponents of the 2017 maps adopted by the state legislature petitioned a state court to intervene and order that the Persily maps be implemented in Wake and Mecklenburg counties. Congressional redistricting is a vital and politically charged issue. Maryland: The governor submits a state legislative redistricting proposal. [178] North Carolina Democratic Party chairman Wayne Goodwin issued a statement via Twitter in support of the ruling: "This is a stunning rebuke of Republican legislators who refused to fix their racist maps and a collosal political failure from Speaker Moore and Senator Berger. SB 691 cleared the House on August 30, 2017, and was enacted into law. The full text of the court's ruling, including map images, can be accessed here.
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